April 26, 2024

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Korea’s per capita income is expected to surpass US$30,000 for the first time, the finance minister said on March 4, a dramatic rags-to-riches success story that has no parallel in contemporary history.

Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, said the country’s per capita gross national income in 2018 likely topped the milestone as the central bank is set to release a preliminary data on March 5.

Korea would be the seventh country in the world to join the so-called 30-50 club of economic powerhouses with a population of over 50 million and per capita income exceeding US$30,000.

The development is a dramatic increase from 1970, when Korea’s per capita gross national income stood at just US$257.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)